I started tatting November 1, 2007, and Matilda joined in on May 21, 2012.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Tatting Zen, Oh Tatting Zen Where Are You?

Fox at tat-ology gave me something to think about today, something that made me go hummm .... you know the old saying "things that make you go hummm", well that's me this morning.

She said something like she's enjoying the process of tatting, not being as focused on the end result.

Here's why this particular comment struck me ......... I get very frustrated with myself if my tatting isn't "perfect", if it doesn't look just like whatever the pattern picture is.

My tatting time is very limited, so I try to spend some of most days (even if it's just a half hour on my lunch break) tatting. Therefore when my piece isn't perfect, like I think it should be, it upsets me that I spent valuable time making something useless. Either I cut it off and start over or it just sets until I need more shuttles for a different project, then I trash it.

Last night when I was tatting, it took me 5 starts to get something going..........

And even though I finished the piece I'm not happy with it and won't show it to you. A complete waste of my precious tatting time. Tatting is a time consuming art form for me, I'm not a speed tatter, and to have spent so much time creating and have nothing to show for it leaves me sad and depressed.

Why can't tatting be about the process for me? Why can't I except it for what it is .... the process of creating; knowing that it's handmade by me, and since I'm not perfect my work won't be perfect either.

6 comments:

So much in the world is judged by how quickly it is accomplished, how well it is done, and/or how much it produces. That is how I used to view my hobbies as well. I NEEDED RESULTS!

But somewhere along the way I decided I wanted to try hand quilting and then hand piecing. I started hand piecing a quilt almost ten years ago. It is an ambitious project with thousands of pieces. At first I would set goals and calculate how far and how fast I could reach them. But somewhere along the way, I realized that this quilt was for no one other than myself and that the making of it was giving me so much enjoyment that finishing in a "timely" manner didn't matter at all. I still work on it when I want and still get a kick out of every little, three inch block I finish.

My tatting Zen is there most days - I tend to lose it when life gets so busy that I can't carve out regular tatting time (my definition of regular tatting time is 5 minutes here and there). Then I seem to expect too much from it or myself. WHY IS THIS NOT WORKING AND WHY AM I NOT RELAXING?!!! I am also a slow tatter so those days are frustrating. But when I've got my Zen going, I am able to put expectations aside and enjoy watching that magic flip, seeing each stitch formed (a BENEFIT of being a slow tatter) and just enjoying some time alone with myself.

Take enjoyment from the process and don't worry about the result or lack of at times. It is YOUR time during the day and spending it DOING something you love is never a waste! You will get there, you just have to flip your mind like a DS and wrap it around the EXPERIENCE of tatting.

I am a speed tatter. I got that way by tatting a lot. On the bus to and from work, at lunch, walking to the store, standing in line at the store, or the bank, in the bathroom, in the canoe or anywhere else I happen to be. In short, I tat anywhere and everywhere. I don't think I'm good enough to stand up to close inspection, but I don't tat so that some invisible person can judge me or my work, I tat because I like tatting. But I don't like mistakes in my work either. I don't like a piece that doesn't turn out right and if it's not sitting right I retro tat on the spot or cut out the offending bits and re-tat. I'll undo as much as 5 or 6 rings and their connecting chains, but more than that and I cut, because it takes less time to cut and re-do that it does to retro tat more than that. For me, getting faster means that the time it takes to fix mistakes is cut down and I don't resent it as much. When I first started to tat and each little thing took such a long time to complete, one little blip in the tatting was a major disturbance to my peace of mind. With practice, my speed increased and my mistakes also decreased. Being able to keep your cool and undo what you have just tatted, helps enormously. I'd rather undo and fix, than abandon completely because it just takes less time. Just keep tatting, it will come out right in the end.

You ever notices it comes and goes??I can have a run of items that just seem to flow then an run of ones that stuff up at the slightest chance.My tatting an be wonderfully neat for a month then atrociously uneven the next...All part of the fun of tatting but SOOOO frustrating